Sermon – John 3:14–21 Come to the Light

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – John 3:14–21 Come to the Light

March 15, 2015

This is the fourth Sunday in the season of Lent. We have been looking at the implications of the boundary between heaven and earth being ripped apart in Jesus' baptism. Our own behavior changes because God is not far off but with us. We begin to worship the true God who died on the cross for us rather than one we construct in our own minds. We realize that the church is called to be a house of prayer for all people where no one should be excluded. Today we will see another significance in the barrier between us and God being torn in two. We have a pathway to eternal life. Let's pray.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our rock and redeemer.

Jesus was having a discussion with an important religious leader named Nicodemus. Nicodemus does not believe in Jesus, not yet. But he has come to Jesus to determine for himself who Jesus is. He has seen the signs and miracles. And now wants to know what is going on.

Nicodemus was a member of the ruling Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, a very powerful man. He was a Pharisee, a member of a major conservative political party. And he was a scribe, a very knowledgeable man in the Hebrew law, prophets and psalms. He came to Jesus at night, probably to hide his meeting from others who might question why he was meeting Jesus. He was curious about Jesus, but he had not yet come to belief.

Jesus already told him that the only way he will ever understand what is going on is if he is “born again”, not reborn in a physical sense, but reborn spiritually. With the gift of the Holy Spirit, Nicodemus will be able to understand that the scripture, our Old Testament, points to Jesus Christ. So Jesus explained who he is by reminding Nicodemus of a familiar Old Testament story.

In Moses' day the people of God wandered in the wilderness for a generation. God provided them with everything they needed. But from time to time they grew dissatisfied and complained. In 

Numbers 21:5 here is what they said. “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” 

 So there is nothing to eat, nothing to drink and we hate the food you have given us! This is an irrational complaint. God has provided them with everything they need, but they complain that they have nothing. What should God do when people have no reason to complain, but complain anyway? Well, the Bible tells us that God sent poisonous snakes.  Now they have something to worry about. Rattlesnakes have infested the camp and people are dying. So Moses began to pray, and God sent a solution. Moses made a bronze snake, put it on a pole, and lifted it up. All the complainers, who looked down never seeing anything that God was doing, would die. But anyone who looked up, and saw what God had done would be saved. Jesus said that this story was about himself. Let's listen to what he said.

John 3:14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

So according Jesus just as Moses lifted up the bronze snake so too will he be lifted up on a cross, so too will he be lifted up from a tomb, so too will he be lifted up to heaven. And just as the people who looked up at the bronze snake lived, so too will the people who look up to the crucified, risen and ascended Jesus receive eternal life.

This is the argument that Jesus made to Nicodemus and to us. We are perishing in sin. And our sinfulness will lead to death. But if we lift our eyes to Jesus we will live with him forever. This act of lifting our eyes to Jesus is called believing. We believe by lifting our eyes to our savior who died for us, was raised from the dead for us, and now lives in heaven with us.

The Gospel of John never uses the noun “faith”. Rather John always uses the verb “to believe”. Believing is not something we doing passively. It is an action we perform.

Jesus is in heaven with God, but the barrier between heaven and earth has been torn in pieces at Jesus' baptism. Therefore there is nothing separating us from him. The way the Gospel of John describes this is by saying that Jesus is the light of the world that shines upon us. And if this light is shining on us, what will we do. One option when we see the light is to scurry away like cockroaches from it. The other option is to come toward the light the way a moth approaches a flame. According to Jesus evil likes the darkness and will avoid the light. But good is attracted to the light. And therein lies our choice. We can flee from the light like a robber trying to get away from it. Or we can come to the light through obedience to Christ. According to John, coming to the light is called “believing” Therefore we believe by coming into the light of Christ through obedience.

In 2010, 33 men were trapped for two months in mine collapse in Chile. They descended into darkness. But inside that mine the light of Christ burned brightly. Jose Hernandez saw the light of Christ in that mine and brought others to it. Jose had worked in that mine for 33 years. And he had been married to his wife, Hetiz, for the same 33 years. 33 men, 33 years as a miner, 33 years as a faithful husband, a coincidence? No way! Christ has an important purpose for Jose.

During the months trapped far beneath the earth, Jose led the other miners in devotions twice a day. He drew deeply on his faith because he had no Bible with him. He told the Bible stories from memory and led the men in prayer. They cried out to God for a savior who would rescue them from the mine. On the Sunday before they were rescued Jose asked for a “real” pastor to come because Jose was not ordained. A pastor came and prayed for salvation. 20 of the miners came into the light of Jesus Christ that day and started to believe. After their rescue, Jose was the first miner to go back into the mine. He descended back into the darkness to thank God for their salvation. ¹

What Jose had done was to have the other miners lift their eyes up from their deadly problems and look at their savior lifted up on a cross. By doing so they were saved and lived. This is the promise for us as well. If we believe, if we lift up our eyes to the risen Christ we will live forever.

I urge you to examine your faith. Do you believe that Jesus came from God? Do you believe he died for our sins? Do you believe he was resurrected to new life? If you do then you have come into Light of Christ and you are assured of eternal life. If not, then you must fast, give to poor, and pray that God will fill you with the Holy Spirit, and give you transformation of life, and belief in Jesus Christ. Let's listen again to the promise that Jesus made for all who believe in him.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

And so the promise of scripture is that if you believe, if you live in the Light of Christ, a life of obedience, then you are promised eternal life. It sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

John Buchanan was a Presbyterian pastor for nearly half a century. He recalls a baptism of a two-year-old boy in his congregation. After the child was baptized with water, Rev. Buchanan put his hand on the boy's forehead and said, “You are a child of God, sealed by the Spirit in your baptism, and you belong to Jesus Christ forever." Unexpectedly, the little boy looked up and responded, "Uh-oh." According to Rev. Buchanan this was the correct response. When you come into the light of Christ everything changes. You become a new person. You belong to God. Your life radically changes. You believe in Jesus Christ and are assured of eternal life. And now you are called to love your neighbor as much as God loves you. Uh-oh, your life will never be the same.²

I think Nicodemus did finally come to belief in Jesus Christ. At Jesus' trial he risked his own life intervening on Jesus' behalf. And after the crucifixion he helped Joseph of Arimathea take Jesus' body to the tomb. Church tradition tells us that Nicodemus was martyred for his faith. He came into the light of Christ, and so we can expect that he, being loved by God, now enjoys eternal life.

I urge all of you to stop looking down at all the problem you have. This is exactly what the devil wants to do. Rather, look up to our crucified, risen and ascended Lord, come into the Light of Christ, love God and love your neighbor, and receive the blessing of eternal life. Let's pray.

Father in heaven we are so often tempted to look down into our own problems. We have trouble seeing the blessings you give us. Help us to look up into the light of you son. We pray this in his name. Amen.

1http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2010/October/From-Darkness-to-Light-A-Miners-Story/

2Adapted from Thomas G. Long, http://day1.org/3823-the_start_of_the_trail